AfriForum demands urgent intervention in Welkom water crisis, while municipal manager ignores pleas

AfriForum is calling on the Matjhabeng Local Municipality to urgently intervene in the current water crisis in Residentia in Welkom. Residents of this neighbourhood have been struggling with a serious shortage of water for more than a week. The organisation also demands that Thabo Panyani, the municipal manager, be held accountable for this water crisis because he allegedly prohibited municipal workers from solving the problem over the weekend.

Households have been without water since Monday 30 June, while the Matjhabeng Municipality and Panyani have simply ignored residents’ pleas. Residents have sent numerous emails, written letters and WhatsApp messages to Panyani about the water crisis and have tried to call him but have received no response. The cause of the water problem is unknown.

Christa Ikking, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Hoogland, contacted Panyani directly on Saturday 5 July after receiving complaints about his silence.

Panyani, however, claimed that he was not aware of any water problems in Welkom, despite AfriForum having clear evidence of several messages sent to him detailing the crisis. After Ikking stressed the urgency of the situation and had to relay the locations involved to him, he promised to investigate.

However, it came to light that Panyani allegedly had explicitly instructed municipal workers not to resolve the water problem over the weekend, leaving the community without water for days longer than necessary.

On Monday 7 July the situation remained unchanged. Residents’ taps were still dry with no communication from Panyani or the Municipality regarding the problem.

“Residents have a right to clean water. The arrogance and negligence of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality is unacceptable as the Municipality is not fulfilling its obligations to the community. The ongoing crisis has led to increasing calls for the privatisation of the Municipality to ensure accountability and restore effective service delivery,” says Ikking.